Expert on Soviet Gulag to Lecture March 6

CHESTERTOWN, MD—An expert on the Soviet prison camp system known as the Gulag will deliver the annual Conrad M. Wingate Memorial Lecture at Washington College on Tuesday, March 6.

Steven A. Barnes, associate professor of history at George Mason University, will lecture on “Understanding the Soviet Gulag in Light of the Nazi Concentration Camps,” at 4:30 p.m. in Litrenta Lecture Hall of Toll Science Center.

Barnes is the author of Death and Redemption: The Gulag and the Shaping of Soviet Society (Princeton University Press, 2011), which won the 2011 Baker-Burton Award for European history. In that book, Barnes draws from newly opened Russian archives and prisoner memoirs to offer a new interpretation of the true role of the Gulag in Soviet society. His digital project exploring the same topic, Gulag: Many Days, Many Lives (http://gulaghistory.org), received a National Endowment for the Humanities’ Special Projects Implementation Grant.(http://gulaghistory.org), received a National Endowment for the Humanities’ Special Projects Implementation Grant.

The Conrad M. Wingate Memorial Lecture in History was established in honor of the late Conrad Meade Wingate, a member of the Washington College Class of 1923, by his brother Philip J. Wingate ’33 and sister Carolyn Wingate Todd. The March 6 talk is free and open to the public.

Cold War History from the Soviet Side: 'Failed Empire' Author Zubok Visits Washington College

Chestertown, MD — Washington College's Conrad Wingate Memorial Lecture Series presents "The Soviet Union: America's Worst Enemy?"—a talk by Vladislav Zubok, Associate Professor of History at Temple University, in the Litrenta Lecture Hall on Tuesday, November 6, at 5:30 p.m. A booksigning will follow.

Dr. Zubok is the author of the newly published A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War From Stalin to Gorbachev; he also is co-author of Anti-Americanism in Russia: From Stalin to Putin and the prize-winning Inside the Kremlin's Cold War: From Stalin to Khrushchev.

O.A. Wested, author of The Global Cold War, hailed Dr. Zubok's new book as "an excellent overview of Soviet foreign policy and a forceful explanation of why Communism collapsed, centering on Gorbachev's mistakes and misjudgments."

The first work in English to cover the entire Cold War from the Soviet side, A Failed Empireprovides a history different from those written by the Western victors.

Dr. Zubok argues that Western interpretations of the Cold War have erred by exaggerating either the Kremlin's pragmatism or its aggressiveness. Explaining the interests, aspirations, illusions, fears and misperceptions of the Kremlin leaders and Soviet elites, Dr. Zubok offers a Soviet perspective on the greatest standoff of the 20th century.

Using recently declassified Politburo records, ciphered telegrams, diaries, taped conversations and other sources, Dr. Zubok explores the origins of the superpowers' confrontation under Stalin, Khrushchev's contradictory and counterproductive attempts to ease tensions, the surprising story of Brezhnev's passion for détente, and Gorbachev's destruction of the Soviet superpower as the by-product of his hasty steps to end the Cold War and to reform the Soviet Union.

In reviewing A Failed Empire, the History Book Club enthused, "Zubok has taken on a huge challenge in attempting to narrate the entire evolution of the Cold War from the perspective of the apex of power in Moscow. He succeeds admirably. ... This is a book that can be read by the specialist and generalist alike. ... The book should reignite serious discussion about the causes of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, which is the subject of his interesting conclusion."

The Conrad M. Wingate Memorial Lecture in History is held in honor of the late Conrad Meade Wingate '23, brother of late Washington College Visitor Emeritus Phillip J. Wingate '33 and the late Carolyn Wingate Todd. He was principal of Henderson (MD) High School at the time of his death from cerebrospinal meningitis at age 27. At Washington College, he was president of the Dramatic Association, president of the Adelphia Literary Society and vice president of the Student Council in 1922-23.

Litrenta Lecture Hall is located in the John S. Toll Science Center. Admission to "The Soviet Union: America's Worst Enemy?" is free and open to the public.

October 24, 2007

An Abbess and Her Garden of Delight: Medieval Historian Investigates Gender and Spirituality, November 9

Chestertown, MD, October 27, 2006 — Washington College's Conrad M. Wingate Lecture in History presents "Garden of Delights: A Twelfth Century Abbess and Her Book," a talk by Dr. Fiona Griffiths, Assistant Professor of History, New York University, on Thursday, November 9, at 4:30 p.m. in the College's Casey Academic Center Forum. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

Dr. Fiona Griffiths is a medieval historian whose work focuses on the intersection of gender and spirituality. Her book, The 'Garden of Delights': Reform and Renaissance for Women in the Twelfth Century (The University of Pennsylvania Press, November 2006) explores the involvement of monastic women in the spiritual and intellectual developments of twelfth-century Europe, overturning the assumption that women were largely excluded from the "renaissance" and "reform" of this period. Focusing on the 'Hortus deliciarum' (Garden of Delights), a magnificently illuminated manuscript of theology, biblical history, and canon law written both by and explicitly for women at the end of the twelfth century, Griffiths offers a persuasive new reading of female monastic culture, arguing for women's engagement with the spiritual and intellectual vitality of the period on a level previously thought unimaginable.

Griffiths has taught at New York University and Smith College. Her articles have appeared in the Journal of Medieval History, Viator, and such collections as Listen, Daughter: The Speculum Virginum and the Formation of Religious Women in the Middle Ages, Medieval Memories: Men, Women and the Past, 700-1300 and Women Writing in Latin. She is currently writing a book on pastoral care in the monastic relationships between nuns and their priests, that is, pastoral care, within the contexts of medieval reform movements.

The Conrad M. Wingate Memorial Lecture in History is held in honor of the late Conrad Meade Wingate '23, brother of late Washington College Visitor Emeritus Phillip J. Wingate '33 and the late Carolyn Wingate Todd. He was principal of Henderson (MD) High School at the time of his death from cerebrospinal meningitis at age 27. At Washington College, he was president of the Dramatic Association, president of the Adelphia Literary Society, and vice president of the Student Council in 1922-23.

Past Obsessions: Reflections on the End of World War II, Lecture November 17

Chestertown, MD, November 7, 2005 — Washington College's Conrad Wingate Memorial Lecture Series presents "Past Obsessions: Thoughts on the Sixtieth Anniversary of the End of World War II," a talk by Carol Gluck, Professor of History, Columbia University, on Thursday, November 17, at 7:30 p.m. in the College's Hynson Lounge. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

The George Sansom Professor of History and the director of the Expanding East Asian Studies Program at Columbia University, Gluck received her B.A. from Wellesley and her Ph.D. from Columbia. Honored with the Japan-United States Fulbright Program 50th Anniversary Distinguished Scholar Award in 2002, she serves as an active member of the National Coalition on Asian and International Studies in the Schools, a trustee of the Asia Society, and a board member of the Japan Society. Her research and teaching focus on modern Japan from the late nineteenth century to the present, international history, and historical writing in Asia and the West.

With numerous books and articles to her claim, Gluck is co-editor of Sources of Japanese Tradition (Columbia University Press), a volume considered the authoritative sourcebook for readers and scholars interested in Japan from 1600 to 2000, and is author of the forthcoming work Past Obsessions: War and Memory in the Twentieth Century (Columbia University Press).

The Conrad M. Wingate Memorial Lecture in History is held in honor of the late Conrad Meade Wingate '23, brother of late Washington College Visitor Emeritus Phillip J. Wingate '33 and the late Carolyn Wingate Todd. He was principal of Henderson (Maryland) High School at the time of his death from cerebrospinal meningitis at age 27. At Washington College, he was president of the Dramatic Association, president of the Adelphia Literary Society, and vice president of the Student Council in 1922-23.

What Archaeology Teaches Us About Christian History, Lecture November 10

Chestertown, MD, November 4, 2004 — Washington College's Conrad Wingate Memorial Lecture Series presents “History, Archaeology and Christianity,” a talk by Paul Maier, Professor of History, Western Michigan University, on Wednesday, November 10, at 4:30 p.m. in the Casey Academic Center Forum. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

Dr. Maier currently serves as the Russell H. Seibert Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University. He received a master of arts degree from Harvard University and a master of divinity from Concordia Seminary, and pursued post-graduate studies as a Fulbright scholar at the Universities of Heidelberg, Germany, and Basel, Switzerland. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Basel. Dr. Maier's historical research utilizes a variety of methodologies involved in manuscript and text analysis, archaeology and comparison of sacred and secular sources from the first century A.D.

He has published numerous articles and books on Christian history—both fiction and non-fiction—with several million in print in a dozen languages, and is frequently interviewed for national radio, television and newspapers. His first documentary novel, Pontius Pilate, received wide acclaim and has gone through numerous printings, editions and translations. His recent documentary novels concerning archaeology and the origins of Christianity include A Skeleton in God's Closet and More Than a Skeleton. In 1984, he was named “Professor of the Year,” recognized by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education as one of America's top 25 finest educators.

The Conrad M. Wingate Memorial Lecture in History is held in honor of the late Conrad Meade Wingate '23, brother of late Washington College Visitor Emeritus Phillip J. Wingate '33 and the late Carolyn Wingate Todd. He was principal of Henderson (MD) High School at the time of his death from cerebrospinal meningitis at age 27. At Washington College, he was president of the Dramatic Association, president of the Adelphia Literary Society and vice president of the Student Council in 1922-23.

Historian To Discuss The Underground Literature Of 18th Century France, October 23

Chestertown, MD, October 14, 2003 — Washington College's Conrad Wingate Memorial Lecture Series presents “Mademoiselle Bonafon and the Private Life of Louis XV: What the Butler Saw and What the Public Read in 18th Century France,” a lecture by Princeton historian Robert Darnton. This free lecture will be held Thursday, October 23, at 4 p.m. in the College's Norman James Theatre. The public is invited to attend.
A former Rhodes scholar, Dr. Darnton holds a Doctor of Philosophy in history from Oxford University (1964) and now serves as the Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of European History at Princeton University. He is well known for his behind-the-scenes approach and research into the undersides of history, the history of books and the history of censorship with a specific focus on 18th century France. His books include The Great Cat Massacre: And Other Episodes in French Cultural History (1985); Berlin Journal: 1989-1990 (1993); The Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France (1996), which won the National Book Critics Circle Award; and the recently released George Washington's False Teeth: An Unconventional Guide to the Eighteenth Century (Norton, 2003). In his October 23rd lecture, Dr. Darnton will discuss his most recent research on the underground literature in France attacking King Louis XV and the general theme of illicit literature as it related to public opinion in 18th century Paris. Taking an “historical perspective to current questions” viewpoint, Dr. Darnton sees 18th century France as a society awash in “information” and an underground press with parallels to our own time with the profusion of information and rumor on the Internet.
The Conrad M. Wingate Memorial Lecture in History is held in honor of the late Conrad Meade Wingate '23, brother of late Washington College Visitor Emeritus Phillip J. Wingate '33 and the late Carolyn Wingate Todd. He was principal of Henderson (MD) High School at the time of his death from cerebrospinal meningitis at age 27. At Washington College, he was president of the Dramatic Association, president of the Adelphia Literary Society and vice president of the Student Council in 1922-23.

Wingate History Lecture To Explore Slavery And The Making Of Atlantic Trade November 14

Chestertown, MD, October 31, 2002 — The Conrad M. Wingate Memorial Lecture at Washington College presents “SLAVERY IN THE MAKING OF THE ATLANTIC WORLD,” a lecture by James Walvin, Professor of History at the University of York, U.K., Thursday, November 14, 2002 at 7:30 p.m in the College's Casey Academic Center Forum. A book signing will follow this free public event.
Professor Walvin is a historian of black slavery and the Atlantic slave trade. He received his B.A. from Keele University, an M.A. from McMaster, and his D.Phil. from the University of York, where he now serves as Professor of History. Professor Walvin most recently served as a Gilder Lehrman Fellow in New York City, but is also the recipient of numerous other fellowships, including an Andrew Mellon Fellowship, a grant from the Social Science Research Centre at the Australian National University, and a fellowship in the Royal Historical Society. He is also the editor of the journal Slavery and Abolition. Professor Walvin has authored, co-authored, and edited more than thirty books on the Atlantic slave trade, English social history, and the history of football (“soccer” to Americans). His book Black and White: The Negro and English Society, 1555-1945 was the recipient of the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize in 1974, and his work Quakers: Money and Morality was named a “Notable Book” by the New York Times Book Review in 1998. Professor Walvin's latest project is Island Peoples: A History of the Caribbean, which will be published by Random House.
The Conrad M. Wingate Memorial Lecture in History is held in honor of the late Conrad Meade Wingate '23, brother of late Washington College Visitor Emeritus Phillip J. Wingate '33 and the late Carolyn Wingate Todd. He was principal of Henderson (MD) High School at the time of his death at age 27. While a student at Washington College, he was president of the Dramatic Association, president of the Adelphia Literary Society and vice president of the Student Council in 1922-23.

Scholar To Discuss The Expulsion And Persecution Of Jews In 14th Century France

Chestertown, MD, February 14, 2002 — The Conrad M. Wingate Lecture Series and the Washington College History Department present "EXPULSION AND EXILE: FRENCH JEWS IN THE EARLY 14th CENTURY," a lecture by William Chester Jordan, Professor of History at Princeton University, on Wednesday, February 20, 2002, at 4:30 p.m. in the College's Hynson Lounge.

Professor Jordan's talk will "open the books" on the tragic history and persecution of European Jews in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries when the Christian monarchs of England and France, amidst the rising religious fervor of the Crusades, abandoned their traditional roles as protectors of the Jews and expelled them from their lands.

Professor Jordan received his Ph.D. in history from Princeton University and now directs its Program in Medieval Studies. He was elected a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America in 1997. In 2000 the Medieval Academy of America awarded him the Haskins Medal, the highest award given to a medievalist, in recognition of his scholarship and service to the field. He is the author of several books, including "The French Monarchy and the Jews from Philip Augustus to the Last Capetians" (1989). His most recent work, "Europe in the High Middle Ages" (2001), is a new title in the Penguin History of Europe series. He was also editor-in-chief of the four-volume "Middle Ages: An Encyclopedia for Students" (1996) designed for middle school students and of the one-volume "Middle Ages" (2000) intended for eight to 10-year olds. He directed the Shelby Cullom Davis Center for Historical Studies from 1994 to 1999.

For more information on this or other events at Washington College, call the Campus Events Office at 410-778-7888.

Wingate Lecture Examines Martin Luther and the German Nation

Chestertown, MD, March 29, 2001 — Eminent historian Dr. Steven Ozment, McLean Professor of History at Harvard University, will give this year's Wingate Memorial History Lecture on Monday, April 9, at 4:30 p.m. in Washington College's Casey Academic Center Forum. The topic will be "Martin Luther and the German Nation."

Dr. Ozment is a specialist in Renaissance and Reformation Europe (1400 to 1700), and teaches courses on the historiography of Reformation Europe, the family in Northern Europe, late medieval and early modern Germany, and European civilization. His published works include The Age of Reform, When Fathers Ruled: Family Life in Reformation Europe, Three Behaim Boys: Growing Up in Early Modern Germany, Protestants: The Birth of a Revolution, The Bürgermeister's Daughter, Ancestors: The Loving Family in Old Europe, and Flesh and Spirit: Private Life in Early Modern Germany.

Praised for adding life, luster and detail to the social history of Europe, Dr. Ozment uses private journals, logs, family chronicles and letters in his historical research to provide intimate if varied views of life in previous historical and social epochs. Readers can experience history in a manner that is more personal, humane and accessible in light of contemporary values, concerns and aspirations.

The Conrad M. Wingate Memorial Lecture in History is held in honor of the late Conrad Meade Wingate '23, brother of late Washington College Visitor Emeritus Phillip J. Wingate '33 and the late Carolyn Wingate Todd. He was principal of Henderson (MD) High School at the time of his death from cerebrospinal meningitis at age 27. At Washington College, he was president of the Dramatic Association, president of the Adelphia Literary Society and vice president of the Student Council in 1922-23.

Wingate Memorial Lecture Examines Civilization and Madness

Chestertown, April 11—The transformation of the medieval world to Renaissance civilization challenged strongly held opinions about human behavior. Using the history of madness as a lens, noted scholar and author H. C. Erik Midelfort will examine the history of the Renaissance and the civilizing process in his talk "Madness and Civilization in Renaissance Germany." The illustrated lecture takes place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday April 20 in the Casey Academic Forum at Washington College.

Midelfort's highly praised study, A History of Madness in Sixteenth-Century Germany, forms the basis of his talk. The work has been praised for shedding light on the entire history of its era and on the nature of insanity and culture in general. It received the 1999 Ralph Waldo Emerson Award, one of three prestigious national Phi Beta Kappa Book Awards for outstanding nonfiction, as "a contribution to the cultural and intellectual understanding of mankind." Donald McColl, Washington College assistant professor of art history, researched the illustrations for the book.

Midelfort is C. Julian Bishko Professor of history and principal of Brown College at the University of Virginia, where he has taught since 1970. He has also written "Mad Princes of Renaissance Germany" and other studies of madness and the occult in the Renaissance. A magna cum laude graduate of Yale University, where he also received his Ph.D., Midelfort has taught at Stanford, Bern, Stuttgart and Harvard universities.

"Madness and Civilization in Renaissance Germany" is the Conrad M. Wingate Memorial Lecture in History. It is also sponsored by the Washington College Department of Art and the Washington College Phi Beta Kappa Association. It is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 1-800-442-1782.